Bored Panda
30 Times Society Just Pretended Something Creepy Was Totally Fine
CuriositiesMAR 25, 2025

30 Times Society Just Pretended Something Creepy Was Totally Fine

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If there’s one thing we humans are really good at, it’s sweeping things under the rug and pretending they’re fine—as long as they don’t affect us directly. It’s definitely not the healthiest coping mechanism, but it’s one we’ve collectively mastered.
In a recent thread, Redditors called out the stuff society has normalized that’s actually pretty creepy. From parents oversharing their kids’ lives online to ads that seem to read your mind, here’s what they had to say.

#1

30 Times Society Just Pretended Something Creepy Was Totally Fine
Electing a convicted felon to lead the country.
121points

#2

30 Times Society Just Pretended Something Creepy Was Totally Fine
Child beauty pageants have got to be up there.
92points

#3

30 Times Society Just Pretended Something Creepy Was Totally Fine
For profit healthcare.
80points

When something is widely accepted as normal, despite being anything but, the best way to challenge it is by speaking up. That’s exactly what Arcenzo, the Redditor who started the conversation, did. Bored Panda reached out to them to find out what inspired the post.

“I was just thinking about how many things in society are normalized but can actually be pretty unsettling when you really think about them—like invasive advertising, unsolicited opinions on personal lives, or even certain workplace expectations,” they told us. “It made me curious about what others find creepy but socially accepted, so I decided to ask Reddit!”

In turn, Arcenzo was surprised and even a little overwhelmed by how much attention the post received. “It’s wild how many people have shared their thoughts. Some answers were things I never even considered,” they said.

#4

30 Times Society Just Pretended Something Creepy Was Totally Fine
Putting your children all over social media and even worse, making separate social media accounts for your kids that can barely even walk or talk yet.
72points

#5

30 Times Society Just Pretended Something Creepy Was Totally Fine
Paparazzi/celebrity gossip culture, and how we basically accept that it's okay to stalk people as long as they're famous and you can make money out of intimate details of their lives.
65points

#6

30 Times Society Just Pretended Something Creepy Was Totally Fine
Kicking out your kids at 18 or thinking an 18 year old is a full grown adult.
65points

#7

30 Times Society Just Pretended Something Creepy Was Totally Fine
Forcing your kids to hug/kiss adults when they don't want to (like grandmas, uncles, family friends etc.).
60points

#8

30 Times Society Just Pretended Something Creepy Was Totally Fine
It's getting better but the "boys will be boys" mentality.
60points

#9

30 Times Society Just Pretended Something Creepy Was Totally Fine
High Schools and Middle Schools requiring female athletes to wear tight and short uniforms on athletic teams similar to what women wear on a beach.
59points

#10

30 Times Society Just Pretended Something Creepy Was Totally Fine
Children's clothing being designed to be tiny versios of adults, specifically little girls 4 yr olds don't need booty shorts and croptops.
52points

#11

30 Times Society Just Pretended Something Creepy Was Totally Fine
Exploiting your own children for social media clout.
51points

#12

30 Times Society Just Pretended Something Creepy Was Totally Fine
Adults in their 30s-50s and above dating anyone with an age ending in "teen"

(18-19)

It's legal, yes.

But still super creepy.
47points

#13

30 Times Society Just Pretended Something Creepy Was Totally Fine
Recording strangers in public and posting it online.
46points

#14

30 Times Society Just Pretended Something Creepy Was Totally Fine
A lot of people say "Child beauty pageants", adult ones are pretty creepy too.
46points

#15

30 Times Society Just Pretended Something Creepy Was Totally Fine
That people with a disability or chronic illness can be treated as sub-human / third rate citizens. Seems universal worldwide.
42points

#16

30 Times Society Just Pretended Something Creepy Was Totally Fine
Parents pushing their kids too far in sports. I grew up racing motocross. I went to regional amateur races. The amount of kids that were getting hit by their parents in the pits after races was sickening. Motocross parents are the absolute worst. Thankfully my parents never did that c**p to me.
41points

#17

30 Times Society Just Pretended Something Creepy Was Totally Fine
Predatory financial practices (like payday loan establishments and slot machines in gas stations).
40points

#18

30 Times Society Just Pretended Something Creepy Was Totally Fine
People/strangers asking about your s*x life or how many people you’ve slept with.

Men harassing people, and it being “boys will be boys”.

Adults telling little girls that their sons are just picking on them because they’re “pretty”.
F*****g weird culture. Just had this happen with my niece where a little boy was shoving her and his mom came over and told my niece that “he just thinks you’re pretty”

I immediately told my niece that his behavior wasn’t ok and no one has the right to touch her or be mean to her.
40points

#19

30 Times Society Just Pretended Something Creepy Was Totally Fine
Forcing women to give birth.
38points

#20

30 Times Society Just Pretended Something Creepy Was Totally Fine
Cruelty to livestock including macerating male chicks at birth in the egg industry.
37points
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